Umbrella.



G. FLYNN.

UMBRELLA.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 21. 1916.

Patented Jan. 30,

INVENTOR WITNESSES ATTORNEY n4: Naif/Q's mums co Puma I mm msnmumm n c lhlhlllld Altl nur onnrbn GEORGE JFLYNN, OF NATIONAL SOLDIERS HOME, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ADAM BROYLES, OF NATIONAL SOLDIERS HOME, TENNESSEE.

UMBRELLA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 30, that...

Application filed Apri127, 1916. Serial No. 93,945.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnoncn FLYNN, a citizen of the United States, residing at National Soldiers Home, in the county of Washington and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Umbrellas, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in umbrellas and more particularly to the head ferrule which is to be mounted on the stick or stem and is to have the ribs connected therewith.

An object of my invention is to provide a head ferrule which is so constructed that the ribs may be fitted thereto to be capable of swinging movement and will not require some supplemental fastening means such as the wire now generally used in mounting the ribs of'umbrellas.

A further object is to so construct the head in conjunction with the ribs that when the umbrella is closed the ribs will be held positively against wabbling or side swing serted in conjunction with the head, should' one of the ribs become broken, or should it for any other reason he found desirable to place new ribs upon the same head, the parts being arranged to permit this interchanging of the ribs without the use of tools or special mechanism, and without the use of the wire now commonly adopted for the purpose of holding the ribs in place on the head.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth in connection with the drawings and then more specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a fragmentary View of the upper end of an umbrella taken on the stem showing my invention applied thereto and with the head illustrated in section. Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the head. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view through the head taken above the rib receiving flange. Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3, taken on a line beneath the rib receiving flange.

The head comprises the ferrule or sleevelike portion 1 which is made of such length that it will extend over the stick 2 for some distance, and adjacent to one end of this sleeve-like portion 1, an annular flange portion 3 is provided, this flange portion being sloped on its outer face. A flange 4:, which is somewhat wider than the flange 3 is formed around the sleeve 1 at a point spaced slightly inwardly from the flange 3, and a third flange, indicated at 5, is formed around the sleeve 1 at a point spaced from the flange 4, this last mentioned flange being slightly narrower in its transverse extent than the flange 4.

The flange 3 is made preferably substantially solid throughout its peripheral extent,

' while the flange 4 is provided with the openings 6 formed transversely therethrough and arranged co-axially around the central bore of the sleeve 1, these openings corresponding in their number to a number of ribs which are to be used in the umbrella and being preferably spaced equally in their coaxial arrangement. The flange 5 has the notches 7 formed in the peripheral edge thereof in line with the openingsG of the flange 4, and these notches 7 are preferably made of such depth that the bottoms thereof are substantially in line with the inner side of the openings 6. If desired, the sleeve-like portion 1 may be bored through and a bore may be formed through the stem or stick 2 of the umbrella and a pin 8 may be passed through these alined bores to secure the head in the proper position, or the head might be wedged, cemented, soldered, or. secured in any other approved manner in the desired relation.

The ribs 9 may be to all intents and purposes substantially of standard form and design, the variations in the structure being that the inner ends of the ribs are provided point of the stick or stem, and the ribs 9 are then mounted on the head by having the hooked portion 10 thereof inserted up through the openings 6 of the flange L and as these ribs are brought downwardly in their swinging path as permitted by the insertion of the hook portion 10 through the. openings 6,'the ribs will be held against upward dis placement by the flange 3 which is made sufliciently wide that as the ribs are given upward movement in a line parallel with the tion, is fitted over the tip end of the stick 2' to bear down at its center against the sloped outer wall of the flange 3 and the seams between the gores of the top will be brought to the usual positioning over the ribs 9 after which the cover may be sewed or otherwise secured to the ribs and when a cap has been fitted down over the tip end of the stick to bear against the cloth of the covering and secure the same between this cap and the sloping outer wall of the flange 8,

- the top will be mounted on the umbrella in the desired relation and by reason of the formation of the head and the ribs as hereinbefore set forth, the ribs will be held against shifting movement to extend through the covering or will be held against side swinging or wabbling movement. WVhen it is desired to replace a broken rib, or for any reason itis desired to remove one of the ribs as fitted in a finished umbrella, it will be only necessary to release a suflicient number of the ribs from the connection with the covering that the particular rib to be removed can be swung to a relative positioning parallel with the extent of the stick 2 and adjacent to the tip thereof, and with the rib in this position, the hook portion 10 thereof may be disengaged from the opening 6 and the rib is removed without the necessity of disturbing the remaining ribs in their mounting on the head portion. A new rib may be placed in the body on the head portion and then by securing the cover to the ribs which have been released and to the new rib, the umbrella will be again restored to a usable condition.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided an improved fastening for the ribs of umbrellas which permits the ribs to bemounted and held in the proper operative relation without wiring, thus eliminating the possibility of the ribs breaking off and punching through the cover, that the manner of securing the ribs to the head permits the repair of the umbrella or the interchanging of the ribs without the use of tools or special apparatus and by one who is not skilled in mechanics, that the construction of the head is such that the stick of the umbrella is reinforced adjacent to the tip end thereof to give greater strength to the struc' ture, and that both in the raised and the closed relation of the umbrella the parts will be held in the proper stability to prevent objectionable side swinging or wabbling of the parts.

lVhile I have herein shown and described only one specific form of the device, it will be understood that the device of my invention is just as readily applicable to umbrellas having a steel staff, and in other connections, and that the head might be constructed in various modified forms to fit particular adaptations in which it is to be used, as well as other forms of construction being resorted to, and also it will be apparent that a number of modifications and changes might be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of my inventlon, and hence I do not wish to be hmited to the exact disclosure but only to such points as may be set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. An umbrella construction embracing a head portion having a flange formed therearound and provided with a plurality of spaced apart openings, a plurality of ribs bent at their ends to form hooks to be received through the openings of said flange and to be freely inserted through or removed from the openings when the ribs are brought to extend substantially parallel with the stick of the umbrella and from the outer end thereof, and a second flange formed adj acent the first mentioned flange and spaced above the same to have the ribs abutted thereagainst at their hooked ends when the umbrella is brought to the folded relation and to thus hold the ribs against punching through the cover.

2. An umbrella construction embracing ahead portion having a flange formed therearound and provided with a plurality of spaced apart openings, a plurality of ribs bent at their ends to form hooks to be re ceived through the openings of said flange and to be freely inserted through or removed from the openings when the ribs are brought to extend substantially parallel with the stick of the umbrella and from the outer end thereof, a second flange formed adjacent the first mentioned flange and spaced above the same to have the ribs abuttcd thereagainst at their hooked ends when the umbrella is brought to the folded relation and to thus hold the ribs against punching through the cover, and a third flange formed around the head on the opposite side of said first mentioned flange provided with notches formed substantially in line with the openings of said flange to receive the ribs when the same are brought adjacent to the stick in the folding of the umbrella.

3. An umbrella construction embracing a head portion adapted to be fitted on a stick at the outer end thereof and provided with three peripherally disposed outstanding flanges arranged in spaced relation, the cen tral flange being provided with a plurality of openings, and a plurality of ribs bent at their ends to provide hooks to be received through the openings of the central flange and to be freely inserted through or removed from said openings when the ribs are brought to extend substantially parallel with. the stick of the umbrella and from the outer end thereof, the inner flange being provided with notches formed in alinement with the openings of the central flange so located that the ribs will fit therein and be held against lateral twisting when brought to a position adjacent to the stick upon closing of the umbrella, and the outer flange made of suflicient Width to overhang the openings of the central flange to hold the ribs against sliding movement through the openings of the central flange and punching through the cover 01" the umbrella when the ribs are brought to the folded relation.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE FLYNN. Witnesses CHAS. J. FOLEY, R. H. BAILEY.

denies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of fateutr Washington, D. i3. 

